


It's Okay

by sunny_impalas



Series: Tumblr Stories [7]
Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types, The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Death, Doctor Who References, Dreams, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gay, Hurt/Comfort, I will make this ship popular even if I have to sell my soul for it, Implied Death, M/M, Men Crying, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 23:56:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17314208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunny_impalas/pseuds/sunny_impalas
Summary: He was shaking like a leaf and Two-Bit was trying to keep him from floating away.





	It's Okay

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off an ask my friend on Tumblr got.
> 
> go follow @ponyboyvhs on Tumblr 'cause she got the ask and @steveandsoda because she sent the ask

_He was laughing, his parents were there. That was a little odd though, weren't they- he lost his train of thought and started to laugh again when Soda nearly tripped with the cake in his hands. Everything was good. He felt happy, and for some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since he had laughed like this. He didn't know why, but his parents felt off too. Like they weren't supposed to be there. Whatever. His mom was lighting the candles on his cake. His dad was standing behind him with a hand on his shoulder._

_He was going to blow out the birthday candles, his family singing around him. He just now realized that the gang wasn't there, that's odd. Why weren't his friends there? He decided to brush it off and went to blow out his candles when-_

When he woke up. Darry was still in his bed, he was staring at the ceiling. He was suddenly hit with the fact that he had been dreaming. His parents had been dead for a year, the anniversary had been just two days ago. Pony and Soda were asleep across the hall, two of his friends had died just a few months ago. 

Darry sat up. He grabbed one of the pillows he had been sleeping on and held it to his chest. He hated how weak he felt. He was supposed to be the strong one, he wasn't supposed to break down over a stupid fucking dream. He let out a shaky breath and shoved his face into the pillow. He felt a few tears start to slip down his cheeks but the pillow soaked them up. 

He hated all of this. He hated how exposed he felt, no one was even in the room. He laid back down and curled into the fetal position. He tugged his blanket to cover his head. He kept his face shoved in the pillow, so what if it was a little hard to breathe. He couldn't bring himself to care as he started to cry into the pillow, hoping no one heard him. 

He jumped when the door to his bedroom opened, popping his head up from under the comforter. He sighed in relief when he realized it wasn't Pony or Soda, but he hated it when he realized who it really was.

 "Happy birthday! You can legally drink and buy alcohol now!" Two-Bit exclaimed, his voice quieter than usual. He was trying to be considerate of the two teenagers asleep just a few doors down. 

Two-Bit paused when he saw Darry's face. It looked horrified, and in the dim light, he could see something that looked wet streaming down Darry's face. He also noticed that Darry was shaking, hard. He looks like he just woke up from a nightmare.

 He closed the door and walked over to the older man, sitting on the other side of his bed. Neither of them spoke for a while, Darry had managed to get the tears under control and. Two-Bit just sat and stared at the carpet. 

Finally, when he couldn't take the silence anymore, Two-Bit glanced over at Darry and asked, "Bad dream?" 

Darry smiled sadly and shook his head. "No… good dream." His eyes filled with tears again when he thought about it, he bit his lip to try and keep it from shaking. 

"If it was a good dream, then why are you crying?" 

Darry shrugged, "My parents were there. It was my birthday. When I woke up it just washed over me that they've been.. You know, for a year. A-and then Johnny and Dally…" He swallowed again to try and keep from breaking down. He'd hate himself even worse if he started to cry in front of someone. Especially in front of Two-Bit. 

Two-Bit stood and walked over to Darry's side of the bed. The brunet was confused, why the hell was he sitting next to him? Was he going to laugh at him? Tell him he was being a girl? What was he going to- 

Two-Bit pulled Darry into a hug, not letting him pull away. The angle was awkward, but Darry's face had been semi-forced into Two-Bit's shoulder. He didn't know what to do, so he just let his arms hang by his sides. Darry just sat there, confused beyond belief.

 "It's okay, you know. To cry sometimes." Two-Bit mumbled, his grip tightening around Darry when he tried to pull away. "And I'm not letting go of ya until you get some of that repressed bullshit out of your system." 

Darry slowly lifted his arms to hold onto Two-Bit's back, gripping his leather jacket tight. He hid his face in the same jacket that covered his shoulder. Two-Bit held his breath, he was almost scared of disturbing Darry. He didn't look small, 6'2" isn't small, but the way he was hiding in his shoulder and the way he was clinging to him made him seem small. Like he just was scared and needed someone to protect him. 

Two-Bit smiled slightly, Darry would kill him if he had said that out loud. The older man mumbled something into his shoulder, and he strained to hear it but it was too quiet. When Darry realized that Two-Bit hadn't heard him he said it again, his voice a little louder. 

"I don't want to get your jacket wet." 

Two-Bit smiled again and pulled away for a second, pulling off his jacket and setting it next to him. As soon as it was off Darry latched onto Two-Bit again, holding onto his t-shirt like a lifeline. He was shaking like a leaf and Two-Bit was trying to keep him from floating away. When he felt his shirt start to get wet, and heard the quiet sobs coming from Darry he felt his heart break a little bit. He pulled him closer and ran a hand up and down his back, trying to be comforting. 

They sat like that for what seemed forever but was probably only thirty minutes tops. Darry pulled away, his eyes were bloodshot and he had tear tracks smudged across his face. He smiled shakily at Two-Bit. The younger man smiled back, touching his arm softly. "You okay now?" He asked, his voice soft. Like he was worried he would scare Darry away like he was a wounded animal.

 Darry shrugged, clearing his throat before speaking. "I think so." 

Two-Bit nodded and pulled his jacket on again. They were quiet for a minute before the redhead spoke again. "C'mon. Let's go watch somethin' on TV. It's your birthday so we can even watch Doctor Who if  you want." 

Darry's face lit up like a little kid. Two-Bit thought it was adorable, he wanted to see Darry like that more often. He stood up and offered him his hand. When he took it Two-Bit helped him stand up, holding onto his hand for maybe a second too long. They were quiet as they walked out to the living room. Darry sat on the couch and Two-Bit sat next to him, if he sat too close and Darry scooted closer to him, no one said anything. 

Darry grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, clicking through channels before he found a rerun of an episode. He smiled and set the remote down, contently watching the show. Two-Bit was confused but tried to follow along. He felt something touch his shoulder but he didn't acknowledge it. 

After the episode ended he turned to Darry, starting to ask what the hell a TARDIS was. He cut himself off when he realized Darry had fallen asleep, and his head was resting on his shoulder. He smiled to himself and carefully brought an arm around Darry's shoulders, holding him close. 

He kissed his head and whispered, "Happy birthday, Darry." 

A few hours later Ponyboy and Soda woke up. They walked into Darry's room to scream ‘Happy Birthday!' and wake him up but were surprised to find that he wasn't there. They glanced at each other and walked into the living room. They smiled when they found Two-Bit Mathews and their older brother tangled together on the couch. Darry's head was settled on Two-Bit's chest and the younger man's jacket was draped over him. 

They shrugged and walked into the kitchen to start on breakfast. They'd let them sleep a little while longer.


End file.
